Egyptian cab drivers astonishing outburst 16 years after he brutally murdered both his daughters
The imprisoned Egyptian father who shot his two teenage daughters to death in an honor killing has made a shocking statement 16 years after the crime.
The imprisoned Egyptian father who shot his two teenage daughters to death in an honor killing has made a shocking statement 16 years after the crime.
Yaser Abdel Said, 67, fatally shot his daughters, 18-year-old Amina Said and 17-year-old Sarah Said, in his taxi cab in 2008 because they were dating men who didnt practice the Muslim faith.
After 12 years on the run from authorities before his capture in August 2020, Said was featured on Court TVs Interview with a Killer on October 20 - in which he spoke for the first time since being convicted of the gruesome murders in 2022.
Now, Said claims that his arrest and prosecution are part of an international political conspiracy theory and he is the true victim in the matter, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The FBI didnt do their jobs, Said told David Scott, an investigative reporter, through a prison telephone at the William C. McConnell Unit in Beeville, Texas. Irving police, they hide something. The media was not honest in this case - especially in this case - to achieve political point.
Yaser Abdel Said, 67, spoke for the first time since being convicted of killing his daughters in 2022, where he said to the interviewer that his arrest and prosecution are part of an international political conspiracy theory and he is the true victim in the matter
His daughters, 18-year-old Amina Said and 17-year-old Sarah Said, were shot to death inside their fathers taxi cab in 2008 in Texas
Behind the glass window, he stood behind his original claim, telling Scott that he never actually killed his daughters.
Its impossible to imagine that these crimes are the result of an elaborate conspiracy when, in fact, your daughters had been threatened, they say, by you, and then were found dead in your taxi cab, last seen with you, Scott responded. Does that make sense to you?
I want my voice to be heard, Scott said. My case is being used to achieve cheap political points.
Despite maintaining his innocence throughout his trial, he spoke in further detail about the supposed conspiracy theory that landed him behind bars, telling Scott that he is a victim of a set-up intended to go after honor killing laws in the United Arab Emirates.
When asked of his feelings toward the practice, Said tells Scott that because he lives in America, he thinks differently. But over there, the people are closed-minded and honor killings remain an issue.
Honor killings are often committed in communities that place a high value on womens social and sexual behavior, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Their gruesome murders were called an honor killing after the sisters dated men who didnt practice Muslim faith
Said stuck with his original claim that he sensed he was being followed while going to dinner with his two girls in 2008 and fled the car, abandoning his daughters who ultimately ended up shot multiple times
In some of these cultures, most notably in the Eastern Mediterranean region, the killings are a collective act decided by the victims family or a group council and are typically driven by cultural norms rather than the choices made by the individual.
But in November of 2020, the United Arab Emirates repealed a law that allowed judges to issue lesser sentences for honor killings.
The UAE then enacted legal reforms to criminalize the practice and now treats the crime like murder, according to Reuters.
Two years ago, Said took the witness stand during his trial noting that he and his daughters were on the way to dinner that fateful night before he fled - apparently fearful that he was being followed.
The former cab driver then denied on the stand that he killed his daughters and told the court that the girls were certainly alive when he left them in the taxi that evening.
Said remained on the run from authorities for 12 years
He was finally caught in 2020 and was later convicted in 2022 of both of their murders
But the teen sisters were found bloodied and slumped over in their fathers cab on New Years Day in 2008 in the parking lot of the Omni Mandalay Hotel in Irving, Texas, where it was discovered they had been shot to death.
Sarah Said was shot nine times and Amina Said was shot twice. Investigators said Amina was killed instantly.
In a piece of incriminating evidence, jurors heard the 911 cellphone call made by Sarah Said in her final moments alive, where she can be heard telling the operator that her father had shot her and that she was dying.
The operator heard: Help, my dad shot me! Im dying.
Said reiterated his innocence on Sunday, telling Scott that: I didnt do crime... I didnt murder nobody.
The Egyptian father was said to be controlling and abusive toward his girls during his trial, specifically with romantic relationships, notably disapproving their American boyfriends, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The sisters, who attended Lewisville High School, had previously spoken out about the abuse imposed by their own father before they were killed.
During Saids trial in 2020, he maintained his innocence and claimed he only fled from authorities over fears that he wouldnt get a fair trial
His daughters have made previous claims to friends and teachers at their school about how their father was controlling and abusive
Amina, just before she was murdered, she told a teacher about the tension in the household and she was terrified of you, Scott said to the father in the interview.
Scott then read an email that was sent by one of his daughters to her high school history teacher just days before the killings.
She said, "We are running away before the break ends. I know he will search for us until he finds us and he will, without any drama or doubt, kill us," Scott continued. Shes talking about you.
But Said alleged that the email and allegations of abuse were fabricated and believed the email to be fake.
I dont think this is true. No, I dont believe that, he told Scott, who then responded by reminding Said that it was written and sent by his own daughter.
I dont know how this email is made, and I dont know if its real or not, Said noted.
But Scott pushed back, bringing up the previous allegations of sexual abuse as a possible motive of the killings.
Not because of their disgraceful behavior, but to cover up your own disgraceful behavior. Amina was talking about your sexual abuse of her again, Scott said.
His wife, who testified at his trial, told her now-ex-husband that he deserved to die after his guilty verdict was read
But the teen sisters were found bloodied and slumped over in their fathers cab on New Years Day in 2008 - Sarah Said shot nine times and Amina Said shot twice, instantly dying
And she told the teacher that when we were younger, he used to do things, and he started hinting at them again, he continued.
Did you kill your daughters to shut them up from making these accusations? Scott then asked.
Said became noticeably irritated by the question and responded to Scott by saying: Oh, this is bulls**t. This is not truth. This is just accusation. Why in a serious case like this, why would you bring accusations? She said, he said.
But Scott continued to question the convicted killer, who said during the interview that he wasnt in possession of a gun the night his daughters were shot - even though it conflicts with his own testimony at his 2022 trial, The Dallas Morning News reported.
As Scott went through the evidence and questions the timeline of Saids apparent story of that evening, he began to criticize his entire defense.
You still say this is a political conspiracy, even with all of this evidence, Scott said. Let me ask you this, Mr. Said, because your story defies logic and common sense, and, frankly, all belief.
Im not even sure you believe it, but your family certainly doesnt seem to believe it, the jury didnt believe it.
His wife, who testified at his trial, told her ex-husband that he deserved to die after his guilty verdict was read.
But Said remained confident during the interview, noting how he feared for his life after sensing that he was being followed and pulled his cab over to flee, ultimately abandoning his daughters.
You didnt know who was after you, you didnt know why, Scott said to Said. You thought there was a threat, but you left your girls to face it themselves?
What father would leave his girls behind to face danger on their own? he then asked.
Said told the interviewer on Sunday that the email his daughter Amina wrote to a high school history teacher voicing her fears over her father was fake
Said wildly claimed in the interview with David Scott that the FBI, police department and the media didnt do their job and handled the case all wrong
Said replied that he never thought it would get that far - he was the intended target and didnt think his daughters would be shot.
Wondering why Said ran away and remained hidden for 12 years rather than turning himself in, Scott asked how and why he was able to remain hidden - especially if he were really innocent.
Said replied that when you are innocent, you get help from the community, which is how he was able to outrun the nationwide manhunt for more than a decade.
When the interview came to a close, Scott asked Said if he was positive he didnt want to come clean for what he had done.
Said reiterated that he had not committed any crimes before hanging up the prison telephone and walking out of the frame while wearing his all-white prison garb.
